The next Frontier Partisans Podcast series — Once Upon A Time in Los Angeles — requires a little bit of a personal introduction. I have posted an audio introduction on The Frontier Partisans Podcast. You can listen to it here or on your preferred podcast platform — there’s a little more extemporaneous exploration than what lies below... * I was … [Read more...] about Once Upon A Time In Los Angeles

Delighted to note that the Sisters Folk Festival is bringing Alasdair Fraser and Natalie Haas back to the event at the beginning of October. I believe I first discovered Alasdair Fraser’s glorious Scottish fiddle when I was working at Paulina Springs Books in Sisters back in the 1990s. First Light/Dawn Rant is one of the most stirring pieces of … [Read more...] about Following The Fiddle

  Another great frontier historian has gone up the trail. Frederick Nolan was a key historian of the Lincoln County War. His book The West of Billy the Kid is an essential text, and his The Lincoln County War: A Documentary History revealed that bloody episode as the battle for commercial domination that it was. Lynda Sanchez sent … [Read more...] about Frederick Nolan, RIP

The long-delayed podcast on The Jameson Raid is up. You can access it here or on most podcast listening platforms. The Raid, which took place at the turn of the year 1895/96, in the Transvaal in Southern Africa, was one of the most spectacular military cock-ups of all time. The Raiders, who had the backing of the imperialist diamonds-and-gold … [Read more...] about Tally-Ho To The Transvaal!

The Almighty Algorithm threw something wonderful in my path in the wee hours of the morning. I look forward to exploring the work of Les Hiddins, aka The Bush Tucker Man. This is exactly what I needed at the present moment — literal time in the bush and virtual time in the bush — to stay grounded in the turning and turning of the widening gyre. (To … [Read more...] about Working The Trapline — Bush Tucker & Badasses

Any of us who explore the frontier history of the American West are walking trails blazed by Robert M. Utley. The great frontier historian and historical preservationist known by the handle The Old Bison went up the long trail on June 7, at the age of 92. Paul Andrew Hutton, himself an outstanding historian, deems Utley the greatest Western … [Read more...] about The Old Bison Has Gone Up The Trail

Barry McKnight scouted up the new brand-new, full-length trailer for Prey. I’m in. If you haven’t seen previous posts, here’s the caper from Deadline: Set in the Comanche Nation 300 years ago, Prey tells the story of a young woman, Naru (Amber Midthunder), a fierce and highly skilled warrior. She has been raised in the shadow of some of the … [Read more...] about It Lives To Hunt

It’s been a bit of a wild ride in these parts lately. Multiple hard deadlines for major projects have demanded my attention and priority — which has put me behind on everything else, from podcasting to posting to reading. If you’ve sent me something to check out and haven’t heard back, I apologize for my lack of responsiveness. I’m getting there. … [Read more...] about Working The Trapline — ’Rona Blues & African Roots

The to-be-watched queue is growing at the same daunting pace as the to-be-read pile. There are worse problems to have. There is quite a feast of Frontier Partisan cinema to delve into out there in the wild — a couple of them coming from the outback of Australia and featuring indigenous leads. However, we’ll start stateside... A couple for … [Read more...] about Working The Trapline — Blood-Sucking Bastards & A Mystery Road

By Matthew Ilseman Seven Samurai is not a Frontier Partisans movie, but I think every member of the Frontier Partisans community should watch it. By this I mean that, aside from being an astounding movie, it was both influenced by and influential on the Western. Most famously, it was remade into The Magnificent Seven among many other … [Read more...] about Seven Samurai